Nesting (part.1)

One of my goals for this summer is to settle into and decorate the house. Since I moved into this house Mid March just before jumping into teaching, I still have boxes to unpack and empty walls which need a little help. I've been blessed to receive so much from other missionaries and teachers who have donated so many things to help me set up my home.

After moving to Nara, when I wasn't teaching or spending time getting to know people, I would go out searching for recycle shops, hardware stores, home centers and learn what place offered what things for what prices. It was a lot of window shopping - so to speak.

Right now - I'm in the process of searching for things like curtains, chairs, bookshelves, pillow covers, and storage bins. Which is why IKEA has been such a joy to find for me! I can visit their online catalog and see what they have and know what I'll find when I get there.

I went by car in July with my friend Amy. She was the navigator and helped me by reading the Japanese road signs and directions. It's in Osaka port about an hour 15 minutes from my house.

Other than this intersection in the photo below we did a stellar job of following the directions. Here - we questioned - "Really? Go up the big scary bridge? But we don't know where it goes? what if it's a highway entrance or a toll road? Really - up?!!?

So we basically made a u-turn and did what any smart woman on a mission would do - stop at a gas station and use your Japanese skills to ask for directions. And sure enough we were told go over the really BIG bridge.
The photo below is what we saw on the other side . . .
We enjoyed looking at all the show rooms - Amy liked this red couch. I really appreciated Amy's help and sense of humor as my brain eventually went to mush with all the decisions I was trying to make - type of wood, color of stain, color of cushions, style, size, etc.

Here are some of the things (pillows, fabric for curtains, blanket, etc) I found to add some colors to the white walls of the craft room/guest room.

Searching shelves for the a chair and bookshelves

Come back for the continuation of the IKEA adventure.